All men depart (1.1.89-94)

PRINCE           For this time all the rest depart away:

                        You, Capulet, shall go along with me,

                        And, Montague, come you this afternoon,

                        To know our farther pleasure in this case,

                        To old Free-town, our common judgement-place.

                        Once more, on pain of death, all men depart.

Exeunt [all but Montague, Lady Montague, and Benvolio] (1.1.89-94SD)

As in the previous passage, the names Capulet and Montague are prominent here. It’s partly expository, continuing to identify the tribes, but it also continues to mark the importance of names and naming in the play. The Prince is back in control of both his subjects and his measured verse, as he maps out future actions in time (for this time … this afternoon) and place (old Free-town, our common judgement-place). His orders are issued crisply and their seriousness is not in doubt; having previously threatened those who continue to fight with torture, his promise is now wholly unequivocal, setting up the play’s eventual catastrophe: on pain of death, all men (whether they be heads of households, young gallants, citizens, officers, or servingmen) depart.

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